Former A’s, Giants pitcher Barry Zito announces retirement

Zito, 37, spent 15 seasons in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants.

“I feel so honored to have spent my career in the Bay and to have been a part of the two incredible organizations that reside there”. Zito sat out previous year before getting the itch play again this season. After a relief appearance on September 20, Zito was given the start on September 26 against the San Francisco Giants and Tim Hudson, who was himself starting his final game at the Coliseum. He’s always been a big music guy. Zito characterized 2008 as the toughest year of his life in his Players’ Tribune article. A musician for about as long as he’s been a baseball player, Zito connected with the music scene in Nashville and after season’s end returned to Tennessee to continue to explore that venue for a couple of months at least, putting off a return to his Southern California home.

Before the 2007 season, he signed a seven-year $126 million contract with the Giants that at the time that was the largest ever for a pitcher. He wrote that a few of his own fans “yelled obscenities to my face while I was in the dugout”. In his first three seasons with Oakland, he received Rookie of the Year votes, down ballot MVP votes and won a Cy Young award. I even found myself ringing my mother at times because I was literally losing my mind and needed five minutes of solace with someone who understood me.

The contract surprised many in the game who believed that Zito’s days as a top-of-the rotation starter were over. But he ultimately endeared himself to fans by plugging along, without complaint, then making a huge contribution to the 2012 championship.

Zito will likely best be remembered as one of the three studs on those early 2000s Athletics staffs. With him, Hudson and Mulder, the Athletics went to the postseason in four straight years. He started an elimination game in both the NLDS and NLCS and got the win in Game 1 of the World Series against the Tigers.

“Beyond all of the achievements”, Zito wrote, “the single thing that fulfills me today is the acceptance of myself as a worthy and valuable person, regardless of what my stature or position in the world was on a given day of my career”.